Who's the black private dick that's a sex machine to all the chicks? If you answered "Shaft," you're damn right! When Isaac Hayes picked up the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 1972 for the "Theme from Shaft," he was only the third African-American to win an Oscar - and the first in the field of music. Shaft remains the best-selling album in the Stax Records catalogue and one of the most successful soundtracks of all time; for Isaac Hayes, it was a triumph that built on the
Holiday Gift Guide Review: Elvis Costello, "King of America and Other Realms"
It was a fine idea at the time/Now it's a brilliant mistake... Elvis Costello delivered a powerful surprise in 1986 when he shed his backing band, The Attractions, and teamed up with T Bone Burnett for King of America. Originally credited in the U.K. to The Costello Show (Featuring The Attractions and Confederates) and in the U.S. to The Costello Show (Featuring Elvis Costello), the album backtracked from the sleek '80s polish of its two immediate predecessors (Punch the Clock and Goodbye
Got You Where I Want You: Dwight Twilley, Max Werner Reissues Arrive This Friday from Iconoclassic
This Friday, November 15, Iconoclassic Records will release its two latest titles - the third album in its ongoing Dwight Twilley reissue series and a long-lost gem from Kayak drummer-singer Max Werner. Twilley, the power pop hero's first solo album following two acclaimed albums with The Dwight Twilley Band, originally arrived in 1979 on Arista Records in the United States. The late singer-songwriter (1951-2023) was joined by a core band including Bill Pitcock IV on lead guitar, Jim Lewis
Country Sunshine: Morello Reissues Four Albums from Late Country Queen Dottie West
After nearly a decade, Cherry Red's Morello imprint has returned to the discography of late country songstress Dottie West with a new 4-albums-on-2-CDs release. After pairing West's first two RCA albums on CD (1965's Here Comes My Baby and Dottie West Sings) in 2016, Morello has jumped ahead to 1971-1972 for a collection featuring Careless Hands, Have You Heard...Dottie West, I'm Only a Woman, and Country Sunshine. After penning Jim Reeves' 1963 hit "Is This Me," Dottie auditioned and signed
Fortuosity: Stage Door Pop Brings Rare Tommy Steele Recordings to CD in November
Tommy Steele may be best remembered today for his starring role on both sides of the Atlantic as Arthur Kipps in the 1963 musical Half a Sixpence - one which he repeated for its film adaptation - or for such motion pictures as Finian's Rainbow and Walt Disney's The Happiest Millionaire. Considered to be Britain's first teen idol, the London native with the toothy grin and big talents scored such early rock-and-roll hits as "Rock with the Caveman," "Butterfingers," "Water, Water," "Nairobi,"
In Memoriam: Quincy Jones (1933-2024)
Quincy Delight Jones was just 14 years old when he introduced himself to Ray Charles. Though the pianist-singer was just two years older, he was already an inspiration to the younger musician. Charles had the gift of synthesizing the various strains of music - jazz, folk, country, pop, soul, rhythm and blues, and gospel, among them - into a sound both wholly new and wholly American. Jones was struck by how Charles overcame adversity, and their shared ethos became one which shaped young
Shattered: The Rolling Stones' 1999 Shepherd Bush Gig Arrives in November from Mercury Studios
The Rolling Stones have long been famed for their "secret shows." One of those took place on June 8, 1999 when Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, Charlie Watts, and company took the stage at the Shepherd's Bush Empire, a 1903 music hall in the West London suburb. In front of an 1,800-capacity crowd including such luminaries as Anita Pallenberg, Pete Townshend, Jerry Hall, Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, and Bob Geldof, the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band strutted their stuff just days
Fanny Walked the Earth: Cherry Red's "The Reprise Years 1970-1973" Expands All-Female Band's First Four Albums
When Fanny - a.k.a. June Millington (guitar), Jean Millington (bass), Alice De Buhr (drums), and Nickey Barclay (keyboards) - came to Reprise Records in 1969, the foursome became the first all-female rock band to be signed to a major label. Championed by Richard Perry, Fanny went on record four albums for Reprise, notch two top 40 singles, open for acts including Humble Pie, Jethro Tull, and Slade, and even back Barbra Streisand on a couple of songs. Their catalogue has been well-served over
In Memoriam: Phil Lesh (1940-2024)
And it's just a box of rain/Or a ribbon for your hair/Such a long, long time to be gone/And a short time to be there... With the passing on Friday of Phil Lesh at the age of 84, another chapter of Grateful Dead's long, strange trip has come to a close. A founding member of the Dead, Lesh positioned his bass as a crucial element of the band's sound. Even as his fluid lines complemented the rhythms of Bob Weir's guitar and the thunderous boom of Bill Kreutzmann and Mickey Hart's drums, Lesh
In Memoriam: Jack Jones (1938-2024)
Music was Jack Jones' birthright. The singer's singer - best-known for "Wives and Lovers," "Lollipops and Roses," "The Race Is On," and, yes, the theme to The Love Boat - was born to actors Allan Jones and Irene Hervey in 1938 and grew up in the world of show business, eventually reaching its heights himself. Jones has died at 86 after a battle with leukemia, and while his passing closes another chapter of The Great American Songbook, his extraordinary body of work will continue to
Can You Dig It? Yes, I Can: Chicago's "Live at 55" Features Steve Vai, Robert Randolph, Chris Daughtry, Judith Hill, More
Last November 17 and 18, Chicago celebrated the 55th anniversary of debut album Chicago Transit Authority at Atlantic City's Ovation Hall (within the massive Ocean Casino Resort) with two marathon concerts touching on every facet of the band's long career. Now, the film of those concerts - featuring a number of special guests including Steve Vai, Robert Randolph, and Judith Hill - is coming to a variety of formats almost one year to the day, on November 22, 2024. Mercury Studios will release
A Special One for You: 'Christmas Once More' Offers New Mixes of Carpenters Holiday Classics
Christmas music was a vital part of the Carpenters canon from the very beginning. In 1970, Richard and Karen contributed their own standard to the yuletide canon with "Merry Christmas Darling," the first of three holiday singles released by the brother-and-sister duo. Richard set to music the lyric written by Frank Pooler, choir director at the Carpenters' alma mater of California State University - Long Beach (today the home of the Richard and Karen Carpenter Performing Arts Center), and in
Listen to the Music: Rhino's New Batch of Quadio Titles Includes Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, J. Geils Band, Foghat
Rhino's ongoing series of Quadio four-channel surround releases on Blu-ray Audio Discs has already presented a host of classic albums by the eclectic likes of Joni Mitchell, Bette Midler, Bread, Chicago, Seals and Crofts, Spinners, Randy Newman, and many others. Today, the label announced a new batch with three returning artists (The Doobie Brothers, Jefferson Starship, J. Geils Band) and one band new to Quadio (Foghat). Each of the four discs, currently available exclusively from Rhino.com,
Fairy Tale: Cherry Red, Grapefruit Reissue Rock Cult Classic from Amazing Blondel Predecessor Methuselah
Before founding progressive folk group Amazing Blondel, John Gladwin and Terry Wincott played in various musical units and styles. After honing their skills in beat, blues, R&B, soul, and even California-inspired psychedelic harmony pop, the British duo turned their sights to harder rock and changed their band's name from The Gospel Garden (inspired by both The 5th Dimension's Jimmy Webb-penned opus The Magic Garden and the 1963 recording of the Langston Hughes stage adaptation Black
Review: Frank Zappa, "apostrophe ('): 50th Anniversary Edition"
Strictly commercial? Not quite. Though Frank Zappa earned his first top ten record and first Gold record with apostrophe (') - the same LP that spun off his first single to make the Billboard Hot 100 - it would be difficult to argue that the singer-songwriter-bandleader had dramatically altered his art in an effort to hit the charts. Sure, the material was a bit more focused and the album rather tight at 32 minutes in length. Yeah, the cover artwork, with its instantly recognizable,
Mama, Cradle Me Again: Madfish Collects Laura Nyro Albums, Rarities on New CD Box
Over three years after the release of its 8LP vinyl box set American Dreamer 1967-1978, the Madfish label is returning to the discography of late singer-songwriter Laura Nyro for the December 6 release of Hear My Song: The Collection 1966-1995. Whereas American Dreamer chronicled Nyro's first decade of music, the 19CD Hear My Song is a career-spanning appreciation of the artist who influenced such talents as Elton John, Barry Manilow, Todd Rundgren, Stephen Schwartz, Rickie Lee Jones, Melissa
Ace Round-Up: Label Celebrates John Barry, Jackie DeShannon, Thom Bell, Paul Williams, Holland-Dozier-Holland
Today, we're rounding up five releases from Ace Records, all of which were released within the past few months by the U.K. label. Ace has followed up its 2022 collection dedicated to the oeuvre of composer John Barry, The More Things Change: Film TV, and Studio Work 1968-1972, with a new volume of the film maestro's works. Something's Up! Film, TV, and Studio Work 1964-1967 (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada) hardly plays like a collection of runners-up, however. Barry crafted so
Quadio Spotlight: Bette Midler, "The Divine Miss M" and Bread, "Baby I'm a Want-You"
Way back in Ye Olden Days of 2011, The Second Disc advocated for the release of the original quadraphonic mix of Bette Midler's 1973 debut, The Divine Miss M. Well, lo these many years later, Rhino has granted our wish, and it's been released on Blu-ray as part of the label's still-growing Quadio series of four-channel reissues. In Craig Anderson's stellar remaster, it's happily as good as we remember it! The 4.0 mix by Atlantic Records veteran Tom Dowd, a legendary producer in his own right,
Can't Wait Till Tomorrow: Cherry Red Expands Sheena Easton's 'Do You'
With 1984's A Private Heaven, Sheena Easton successfully followed in the footsteps of Olivia Newton-John in shedding her "girl next door" persona - so much so that future U.S. Second Lady Tipper Gore's Parents Music Resource Center "honored" Sheena's Prince-penned "Sugar Walls" with a slot on its "Filthy Fifteen" list. No wonder Gore and co. were threatened by the success of "Sugar Walls;" A Private Heaven became the singer's most successful album to date. How to follow it up? Enter Nile
In Memoriam: Kris Kristofferson (1936-2024)
On a Sunday mornin' sidewalk/I'm wishin', Lord, that I was stoned/'Cause there's somethin' in a Sunday/That makes a body feel alone... With songs such as "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," Kris Kristofferson expanded the vernacular of country music, bringing realism, gritty authenticity, and a literate sensibility - he was an Oxford-schooled Rhodes Scholar - to a genre already known for its unvarnished musical stories of pain and heartbreak. Kristofferson would find himself at the vanguard of
It's a Beautiful Day: Michael Bublé Collects Greatest Hits on "The Best of Bublé"
With nearly one dozen studio albums, three live sets, and numerous EPs, it's surprising that Michael Bublé is now announcing his first physical greatest hits collection. With 75 million records sold and four Billboard No. 1 albums, he's the third best-selling Canadian artist of all time, behind only Celine Dion and Shania Twain. The Best of Bublé arrives tomorrow, September 27, on CD and digital formats from Reprise Records, while 2LP vinyl editions (standard at all stores, clear at his
Needless to Say: Al Stewart's "Past, Present and Future" Goes Deluxe From Esoteric
Al Stewart fans have been rather well-served in recent years. The historically-minded troubadour recently released a new live album with the band The Empty Pockets, preserving a concert set on 2 CDs. Earlier this summer, Al received a volume of Rhino's Now Playing series of vinyl compilations. Last year, TSD teamed up with Real Gone Music for Songs on the Radio: The Complete U.S. Singles 1974-1981, and in 2022, Madfish issued The Admiralty Lights, a massive 50-CD box set featuring (almost)
On the Way Home: CSNY Releases "Live at Fillmore East, 1969"
On the morning of Monday, August 18, 1969, at 3:30 a.m., David Crosby, Stephen Stills, and Graham Nash took the stage at Max Yasgur's farm. The threesome's self-titled debut album had been released in May, peaking at No. 6 on the Billboard 200 and yielding a pair of hit singles, Nash's "Marrakesh Express" and Stills' "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes." But CSN wasn't done yet. On August 16, they'd launched a tour in Chicago with a new bandmate, Neil Young. The Woodstock performance was CSNY's second
In Memoriam: JD Souther (1945-2024)
"We always said our motto was 'we're building to last.' We really spent a lot of time on the songs. The other motto was, 'no filler.' You don't make a single and then put a bunch of filler on an album. You make an album and hope you have a single," JD Souther shared with me earlier this year. The singer-songwriter's extraordinary body of work, one of the cornerstones of the Southern California rock sound, reflected that ethos: "You're Only Lonely." "Faithless Love." "Her Town Too." "Best
Tops of the Pops: Verve Releases New Louis Armstrong Hits Collection
On October 16, A Wonderful World: The Louis Armstrong Musical begins previews at Broadway's Studio 54, starring Tony Award winner James Monroe Iglehart (Aladdin's Genie) as the titular legend. Told from the perspective of his four wives, the musical chronicles the life of one of the most significant and enduring figures in the entirety of American popular music. Today - roughly one month before the show hits New York - Verve and UMe have celebrated Armstrong's legacy with the release of
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